The path I took to reach the truth

by Jason Richardson



I awoke frozen to my bed, transfixed in a dream-like
state unable to move. The morning light shone
through my window into my room, my eyes hardly
open, my arms outstretched, my legs bent. I could
only see through the bottom part of my eyes, I tried
to move my arms, but each time I gained an inch
forward, a windy presence would push my arms back
down, into a position. A position I realised resembled
that a person on a cross. I could not move my
lips, I shouted out in my mind to God, to save me. I
awoke…


Before I had this spiritual experience, I had been
preoccupied with the notion of Jesus in the Bible. As
a previous Christian I used to believe Jesus (pbuh)
was God, our saviour sent down to die for our sins,
the most compassionate being ever to live. The one
who set the whole world an example of real justice,
in a parable by Jesus (pbuh) where some people were
about to stone a woman for adultery, he stated: ‘Let
the first man not guilty of sin cast the first stone’.


Not one person could throw the stone, and the only
person who remained before with the women was
Jesus (pbuh), a sinless being. This example showed
me real compassion, and a person who we all could
understand and relate to, through our own personal
experiences, the human God.


When I reached university I decided to live a little for
a few months. I told (Jesus) God to give me some
time to enjoy university life, but still tried my best to
retain a good life in terms of my religion.


I met a person at the beginning of the year that had
been looking into Islam for the past year but had not
taken the step to revert. At first we argued about
Islam and Christianity. I used to argue and stay things
about Islam such as who was the Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh)? Didn’t he have loads of wives and wasn’t he
always fighting and killing people? But more importantly
I used to believe he was a false prophet who
came and said that Jesus was no more than a man, a
prophet. This was before I had even read the Quran.
I had the notion that by the end of University I would
bring the person back to Christianity the true religion.


How wrong I was.


For the next few months, nothing much happened
until about a month before the exam period. For
some reason, I met up with this person again and this
time they had become a Muslim. I was shocked and I
wanted to know
more, but no way was I ever going to become a Muslim.


I was a Christian and I believed I was going to be
one for ever. I gave the person my Bible, they gave
me their Quran, we debated and argued for about a
month, we discussed such issues as Jesus (pbuh)
being God, Mohammed (pbuh) and his many wives. It
got to stage were we parted and decided that you
believe in what you believe and I believe in what I
believe, but during the two weeks before my exams
everything changed.


During the first week, I was highly motivated, the
introduction of the Quran and the debates had
strengthen my beliefs in my own faith. I wasn’t telling
God to give me time anymore - I was ready to live
for him again.
I decided to pick up the Bible again. I even went to
Muslim lectures, where one Sayed (lecturer) asked
me if I had any questions. I answered: ‘Who is Jesus
(pbuh) in the Quran?’
He replied ‘the spirit of God’. I was amazed: I remember
feeling a sense of gratitude to God for confirming
to me, as we Christians believe that Jesus was
the spirit of God, e.g. in essence God.


I thanked God and remember during the first week
meeting up with some Christian friends at my university
halls to discuss Jesus (pbuh), to pray. I was living
for Jesus (pbuh) again.
But I got my first shock when I started to ask my
Christian friends who was Jesus (pbuh), some said he
was but a man, others a God, one went as far as to
say he was human while he was alive, but when he
died he become God, I wonder why God would let
his people be so confused over such an important
issue as God, this led me to ask myself why do I believe
Jesus (pbuh) is God.


So I decided to really look at the Bible. I found not
one verse in the Bible were Jesus (pbuh) clearly
states he is God, another verse stated no one knows
when the world will end, not even the son, only the
father, thus meaning that the son, Jesus, was not allknowing,
a requirement of God. Also how can God
need to be sustained? Jesus ate food, he slept, he
died, he stated in Matthew that our God is one God,
and that we should love him with all our heart.


I decided to ask God for help: I prayed one night for
God to help me to the right path: if Christianity is
the right way then guide me, if Islam is the correct
way, then God, may your will be done.

As I awoke from the dream which I spoke about at
the beginning: I asked God what was the meaning of
that experience, I heard a voice reply ‘Why would I
send down myself to commit suicide, I am the Alpha
and omega, the being and the end, I was neither
born nor die, these Christians who say such thing
are in grave error’.

I was devastated, but at the same time amazed, why
did God answer my prayer, it seemed to me that
God was directing me away from Christianity, from
that day I looked at Islam with an open mind.
My next religious experience was during the next
week, I had just finished talking to my friend on msn,
and I felt the need to lie down. This time I heard the
word ‘Allah’, and it continued: ‘I am Allah who created
the heavens and the earth, the moon and the
skies, thunder and lightning….the wonders and signs
are for all my people to see, all things are created by
me and from me’.

The word that could describe this feeling I had was
“wow”! I had asked God to show me the truth and
he had, I felt so humbled that he choose to answer
my prayer, I related to my Muslim friend the words I
had heard, the person was amazed and told me
most of what I had said was in the Quran but yet I
had only read the first few pages in all these months.

A few months later I did my Shahadah and become a
Muslim. Looking back I thank God, Allah for directing
me to the right path. Islam is the complete region
and the perfect way of life and the fullest way
of living for God. God is one and has no partners,
and is the most compassionate and merciful